La Fête is a London wedding planning studio, founded by Charlotte Ricard-Quesada in 2016, that organises its work around the traditions of the families it plans for. It plans French, Spanish and Italian weddings, Jewish and Indian weddings, and European weddings for couples from the Gulf, and it plans for families who marry across countries and faiths.
From the fashion houses to Great Portland Street
Charlotte founded La Fête after almost a decade in luxury fashion, working with Dior and Tom Ford among others. She is of French and British heritage, grew up in Switzerland and married her Spanish husband in France, and she is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian, so she can brief suppliers in France, Spain and Italy directly.
The studio works from offices on Great Portland Street in central London. Since 2016 it has also partnered with London venues, private estates and hospitality spaces, and it offers a venue consultancy service alongside its wedding work.
Weddings planned in the customs of the families
The studio’s services are organised by tradition as well as by destination. For France the offer runs from a multiday celebration in a Louis XIV château to the buyout of an iconic hotel on the Côte d’Azur, a five star Parisian hotel or a setting in the French Alps. For Spain it covers a multiday, multi location wedding in historic Seville and a hotel buyout in the rolling hills of Andalusia. The Italian service covers luxury weddings in Italy for couples who expect discretion.
Jewish weddings are planned in the UK and across Mediterranean Europe, and the range is wide: strictly Orthodox weddings with Beth Din catering, Conservative and Reform weddings, and informal ones. The ketubah can be traditional, secular, interfaith or adapted to the couple’s own values. Indian weddings are planned in the UK and across Europe, with as many poojas as the families wish, and a Mehndi, a Sangeet and a Jaimala building towards the Mandap ceremony.
A fifth specialism is the European wedding for couples from the Gulf. La Fête plans destination weddings in Europe for couples from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with examples that run from a private château in the south of France to a clifftop ceremony on the Amalfi Coast and a multiday celebration at a historic Andalusian estate.
How a project runs
Couples begin with a complimentary first meeting at a London location of their choice, after which a bespoke proposal is prepared, with pricing built from planning and design, production and event management. Once the project is under way, the studio handles budgets, timelines, venue and supplier sourcing, styling and payments, attends supplier meetings, site tours and tastings, negotiates vendor contracts, arranges hotel room blocks and transport, and manages the event days, with pre and post event service included.
The budget is set at the start, and the couple has the final say on spending and continuous access to the budget sheet. Venues are shortlisted with attention to garden layouts and interior floor plans, privacy and security, and where a helicopter or private aircraft could land, down to the position of each electrical point. Suppliers come from a vetted national and international base and are recommended only where they suit the couple, who choose between them. A designer then presents a detailed plan of colours, designs, locations, banqueting areas and zoning layouts, refined with the couple, and one planner stays the point of contact for suppliers, guests and the couple on the day. For larger productions the studio can also coordinate private jets, car fleets, artists’ contracts and greenrooms, and security and protocol staff.
La Fête’s planner told Wezoree that she came to planning wanting to combine creativity, organisation and travel, and that she offers a full, hands-on service rather than packages. Clients fill in a questionnaire and have an introductory call before deciding to work together, then stay in touch by WhatsApp, email and telephone. Her advice to couples is to be honest about budget and guest numbers from the first conversation and, for an outdoor wedding, to settle a backup plan they genuinely like and raise the weather with the venue early.
Borrowing a destination’s traditions
Charlotte has written on the subject for Weddings & Honeymoons magazine, in an Ask the Expert column on incorporating the traditions of the place where a couple marries. She offers six ideas. The bridal party can wear traditional clothing from the destination. Local musicians and traditional dances can entertain guests and bring them into the culture. A local caterer can serve regional dishes, desserts and drinks. Couples can research the wedding customs of the region and add one or two to the ceremony. Native flowers and regional materials can shape the bouquets, centrepieces and decor. And guests can be given favours that reflect the destination, from local crafts to delicacies.
Recognition
Charlotte Ricard-Quesada is listed as a recommended adviser in the Spear’s 500 guide for 2026, in its event, party and wedding planners category, in a profile that marks La Fête’s tenth year. She won Best Diverse Luxury Event at the 2024 Diversity in Luxury Awards.
Planning your wedding with La Fête
The fee structure has three parts. A flat planning and design fee is set after the first consultation and paid in full at contract signing. A production fee of 20 percent of the total contract amount, which can be lower for larger budgets, is paid half at the midpoint of the project and the remainder no later than two weeks before the wedding. An event management fee, based on guest numbers, venues and dates, is due thirty days before. The planning and design fee and the event management fee are quoted on request. Meetings outside London or abroad carry an extra charge, and the team travels worldwide.
Questions to bring to the first meeting
- Which of the studio’s traditions services fits your ceremonies, and who will lead them on the day.
- What the planning and design fee and the event management fee will be for your guest numbers and dates.
- What the extra charge for meetings abroad covers.
- For an outdoor celebration, what the backup plan is and when the decision to use it is made.
The verdict
La Fête suits families who marry across countries, languages or faiths, couples from the Gulf who want a European wedding planned by a team fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian, and anyone who would rather be asked about their customs than shown a template. Couples who want one recognisable house style should look at the studio’s gallery before committing, because the work is organised around each family’s customs rather than a single look. The principal planning consideration is cost clarity: the production fee is stated, the other two fees are not, and meetings abroad carry an extra charge, so ask for the full proposal early. Check your date with the studio through its 5 Star Weddings profile, or compare it with other wedding planners on the directory.
Website: la-fete.com
- Planning and design: La Fête Bespoke Event Planning
- Photography: La Fête Bespoke Event Planning
